West Papua Free!

West Papua, part of Indonesia shows disparity with the land that annexed it after the Dutch abandoned a war which should have secured independence for the Papuans as the Netherlands had promised. Frans Welman in collaboration with Viktor Kasiepo travels through this forgotten land of high rise mountains and swampy coast dotted with beaches to experience culture and repression. Their aim is to make More

West Papua, part of Indonesia shows disparity with the land that annexed it after the Dutch abandoned a war which should have secured independence for the Papuans as the Netherlands had promised. Frans Welman in collaboration with Viktor Kasiepo travels through this forgotten land of high rise mountains and swampy coast dotted with beaches to experience culture and repression. Their aim is to make the culture of the Papuans known so that they do not need to stand alone in their quest to be free of domination.

Frans Welman is a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He started out as a clinical psychologist with a preference for cross-cultural psychology. Armed with that inclination, he went on a journey that carried him from West Papua to Peru, and eventually to the doorstep of Nagaland. Working in the prominent Dutch anthropological Royal Tropical Museum education department for many years brought the conviction to stand by those indigenous peoples who, due to post-colonial effects, have yet to attain their right to self-determination. Frans Welman brings these peoples and environments they live in to light as his never-ending journey continues.